Montreal’s legendary Kalmunity Vibe Collective got its name when KVC founder, drummer and artistic director Jahsun was driving to the collective’s first gig at Montreal’s Sablo Kafe 10 years ago.

“Our name came from my childhood friend RawNia who – during the car ride after I said I was looking for a [band] name that reflected unity and community – suggested ‘Kalmunity’ and I really liked it,” says Jahsun. “It’s about calm and unity from all walks of life, and so I changed the ‘C’ to a ‘K.’”

From KVC’s start at Sablo Kafe, the collective successfully developed cultural events throughout the city like their Intimate Sky performance series, Kalmunity Jazz Project Sundays, the Kalmunity Black Liberation Month Series, the Kalmunity Music and Poetry Workshop Program and their original series, Live Organic Improv Tuesdays which continues every Tuesday at Les Bobards (4328 St-Laurent).

The collective also headlines their Kalmunity Jazz Project every Sunday night at Dièse Onze (4115A St-Denis), and Jahsun estimates KVC – now one of Canada’s biggest artist collectives with 60-100 participating artists – have performed over 500 concerts, including three nights at the 2012 Montreal International Jazz Festival.

KVC founder, drummer and artistic director Jahsun

KVC’s musical style blends R&B, hip-hop, afrobeat, funk, reggae, soul and jazz, and their conscious lyrics give voice to those pushed to the margins of mainstream society. As their mandate states, “Our platform for expression is live organic improvisation, which incorporates music and poetic expressions in both French and English without any limitations on musical or poetic genres.”

“Our legacy really is the platform we’ve become for alternative stories and artist development, something which is very much missing in the [music] industry these days,” Jahsun explains. “We didn’t start off that way. We just wanted to create a new platform. But we’ve become this huge artist collective. It’s like church – it’s family!”

“There are still quite a few [performers] who have been with the collective since the very beginning,” says Jahsun, pointing out the theme for the KVC anniversary show is The Elements: Water, Earth, Wind and Fire. “Many of the old-timers will [also] join us onstage.”

Jahsun proudly adds, “I would love to see a lot of old faces in the audience too. For me, this is just a great celebration marking a positive collective that’s made a big difference in the arts in this city.”

The March 30 concert at Cabaret du Mile End (5240 Parc Ave.) begins at 9 pm and is expected to last over four hours. “There will be an intermission,” Jahsun says, “so the pacing will be easy-going.”

Admission is $12 in advance (click here) or $15 at the door. Click here for the official Kalmunity Vibe Collective website, and click here for their Facebook page.

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